Findlay taking the long term view

After a tough openng to life as Scotland head coach, Karen Findlay is taking the long-term view about progression.

Having taken over just a week before the competition began she knew that winning the 6 Nations was out of the question. With many new, inexperienced players and a change in the management staff this was always going to be a daunting job but Findlay is not shy of a challenge and has been relishing every opportunity that this new role brings.

From the word go we were chasing our feet as we werent just getting to know the players but the management too. In the first week or so there was quite a bit of fire fighting but everyone was quick to get over that and get focused on the job at hand and thats exactly what we did as we headed into the France game.

Findlays challenge has not been about winning, but about developing the squad she has now into great future players and a tight unit. Scotland underperformed in last years World Cup and have suffered with retirements and injuries since. For Findlay it is all about looking forward; bringing new players into the game, training young and inexperienced girls, developing the existing players and creating a great squad for the future so that Scotland can return to making a mark on the international scene.

This is not about a quick result. This is not about winning the 2011 RBS Six Nations; this is about fostering a squad and developing talent to produce a side that will be great in a couple of years. Im not going to sit around trying to figure out a way to make things work in the short term; Im going to look to other sports and look at young girls coming up through the ranks and build players from there. And developing them with the great, seasoned players we have so that we all share the ultimate goal for the future.

Findlay admits that their opening game of the tournament against France game was always going to be incredibly tough.

A comprehensive defeat at the hands of Australia in last years World Cup third/fourth place play-off for France would have left its scars and the opening battle of this years Six Nations was always going to be a means of healing them. France put those demons to bed and drew on the incredible depth in their squad to play some exceptional rugby against the new Scotland side. They beat them 53-3 it what proved to be a baptism of fire for this new look Scottish squad but the impact of that game on the new players and on the new management will only have been positive according to Findlay.

She said France was never going to be easy. It was always going to be an incredibly hard opening game especially playing them on their soil. When France are on form any side would find it difficult to beat them and they were on form that day. The step up to the international arena is massive but our players are working very hard at it and their commitment and work ethic showed in that game. It was tough but it was a great learning experience.

The loss of key players like Lucy Millard and Erin Kerr played a massive part in that match and continues to do so throughout the competition acknowledges Findlay.

What we have is a young and inexperienced team. Lucy and Erin have incredible international experience and losing them has been massive as their impact both on and off the field would have been huge on our new players. However we have an incredibly motivated squad and all of the girls, despite how many caps they have are great at motivating themselves and inspiring each other.

The gap of only a week between the France and Wales games proved too quick a turnaround for Scotland, Findlay concedes but also credits her side with some spirited rugby and says the scoreline didnt reflect the game.

In the second half and especially the first quarter of the second half we showed some great play, but there were nave mistakes. This is to be expected from such a new squad and this is what my role is all about. Were trying out new attacking and defensive positions. Were making sure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. Weve got a kicker now in Caroline Collie. Were putting the blocks in place now for the future.

Findlay will continue to build those blocks and work on those new positions against Ireland this weekend.

Ireland have a great squad. They may have lost some players since the World Cup but they still have a fantastic pack and some of the best backs in the competition. We know this will be another tough game but we are excited to be playing on home soil and we are relishing the challenge yet again.

A challenge is what its all about for Findlay. She is passionate about her country and developing womens rugby there to compete on the main stage. She has done a fantastic job as Head Coach of current RFUW Premiership champions Richmond and although concedes that Scotland is a very different challenge to Richmond it is very much an exciting one. She sees immense potential in the players that she has and sees great things for the future.

This is all about the future. This is about putting the changes in now so that we have everything in place in a couple of years. This is a long process but I am loving every minute of it.